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Washington Railroads and Railfanning In "The Evergreen State"

Today, Washington railroads are dominated by BNSF Railway, which owns three main lines in the Evergreen State and controls the lucrative container traffic coming from the Puget Sound region. Washington is also rich in railroad history as the state was the final destination of northern plains railroads attempting to reach Seattle and the west coast. From an operational standpoint Washington has plenty to offer with the Cascade Range covering much of the state and the spectacular Columbia River carving its way through the state’s western region. Aside from the Class I's lines of BNSF and Union Pacific, Washington is served by one regional (Class II) and a wide range of shortlines. So, whether you are interested in seeing BNSF stack trains blast their way through legendary Cascade Tunnel (found along Great Northern’s old main line, it is the longest tunnel in the country at eight miles) or see Amtrak Cascades skirt along the Puget Sound, the Evergreen State is home to all of this plus much, much more.

Washington railroads date back to 1851 when the Cascade Portage Railway opened six miles of railroad between Hamilton Island and Stevenson, Washington (the railroad operated until 1907). By 1883 the first of the “Hill” lines reached the Puget Sound with the Northern Pacific Railway opening its main line between Minneapolis and Seattle that year. Ten years later in 1893 the other transcontinental “Hill” line also opened, the Great Northern Railway, operating over much of the same territory as its allying road. The final railroad to compete in the Pacific Northwest was the Milwaukee Road, which completed its main line to Seattle much later than its two competitors by not reaching Puget Sound until 1909.

While the MILW, NP and GN were the transcontinental routes through Washington other notable Class I railroads also served the state including the NP-GN owned Spokane, Portland & Seattle (which served as a bridge route for the railroads connecting its namesake cities along with northwestern Oregon) and the Union Pacific, which reached as far east as Spokane and as far west as Seattle/Tacoma. Of all of Washington's railroads perhaps the SP&S is the most interesting. The railroad proudly claimed itself The Northwest’s Own Railway and while it operated less than 1,000 miles of railroad it was a vital link for parents Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads. To learn more about the classic lines that operated in Washington please check out the links below:

Milwaukee Road

Great Northern

Northern Pacific

Spokane, Portland & Seattle

Yakima Valley Transportation

Burlington Northern

Union Pacific

Today successor BNSF operates all of the ex-GN, NP, and SP&S trackage and because of the strategic advantage all three carriers’ routes held in Washington it is not surprising that BNSF continues to hold the upper hand in the state (as evidenced by the endless string of container and grain traffic that travel to and from the Puget Sound region). It was not always this way, however. Prior to the Milwaukee Road abandoning the Pacific Northwest it, amazingly, dominated the intermodal market along the Puget Sound so much so that due to the railroad’s horrendous maintenance practices by the 1970s it simply became overwhelmed by the traffic volumes that the physical plant could no longer support such strain and forced the railroad into bankruptcy in the late 1970s. Even today, the Milwaukee Road's main line would have also made for a vital link to Chicago with its direct route but unfortunately virtually nothing remains of it in Washington (although the state does own virtually the entire right-of-way between the Idaho border and Seattle).

In any event, today Union Pacific and several shortlines including the Ballard Terminal Railroad, Cascade & Columbia River Railroad, Central Washington Railroad, Columbia Basin Railroad, the historic Columbia & Cowlitz Railway, Great Northwest Railroad, Kettle Falls International Railway, Meeker Southern Railroad, Mount Vernon Terminal Railway, Palouse River & Coulee City Railroad, Pend Oreille Valley Railroad, Lewis & Clark Railway, Puget Sound & Pacific Railroad, Tacoma Rail, Tri-City & Olympia Railroad, Washington & Idaho Railway, and Western Rail Switching operate the remainder of Washington's rail network (of note, Montana Rail Link has trackage rights into eastern Washington). To learn more about these companies please click here to visit Washington's career page.

The state's railroads today operate over 3,100 route miles of its original infrastructure, which peaked at nearly 5,600 miles during the industry's height of the 1920s. While Washington has lost nearly 2,500 miles of trackage it still retains 56% of its network, which is about the national average. For more information about Washington railroads, in terms of mileage over the years please take a look at the chart below.

Washington railroads also include a number of commuter and passenger trains. Amtrak operates the Coast Starlight and Empire Builder from Seattle’s King Street Station and is also contracted by the state to operate the Talgo trainsets between Eugene, Portland (Oregon), Seattle, Bellingham (Washington), and Vancouver, British Columbia. Along with Sounder commuter trains (which operated between Seattle and Tacoma), commuter rail has become an extremely popular mode of transportation in Washington since debuting in the 1990s, and future extensions of the service are planned. To learn more about the classic passenger trains that served Washington please click here. Additionally, the links below provide more information about the state's current passenger and commuter rail services.

Sound Transit

Amtrak

If you enjoy excursion trains and tourist railroads, Washington railroads feature several! While the popular Spirit of Washington Dinner Train closed in the fall of 2007 others like the Mount Rainer Scenic Railroad and the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad continue to offer stunning views of the Cascade Mountains and Washington countryside. The Evergreen State is also home to several railroad museums such as the Northwest Railway Museum and the Washington State Railroads Historical Society Museum.

Finally, for more about Washington railroad museums please click here. The guide is broken down by state and covers most such facilities found around the country. Also, for information concerning excursion trains found within the state please click here. Lastly, for great reading about a few now-abandoned Washington rail lines please click here. Of note, the links below provide additional history of Washington railroads.

Washington Interurbans

Surviving Washington Train Stations

Please Click Here To Return To The Main States Section

In all, whether you are interested in seeing stack trains work their way through the stiff grades of the state's eastern half, watching commuter trains hurry up and down Puget Sound, or just enjoy a relaxing trip aboard an excursion train, Washington railroads feature all of this plus much, much more. For more reading about Washington's railroad history you might want to pick up a copy of Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History Vol. III: Oregon and Washington by author Don Robertson. The book gives a fine, indepth account in more than 300 pages covering both the history and operations of railroads in both states. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit the link below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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